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Three Oaks
The Weather Channel has carried a local weather forecast segment since the network was launched on 2nd May 1982. The segments were originally seen either every five minutes or eight times an hour at various times (airing more frequently in the morning and less frequently at night). The structure of scheduling the segments eight times an hour at times ending in "8" was implemented in mid-1995. The "Local on the 8's" name was first used on 21st April 1996 to coincide with a sweeping revamp of the channel's on-air presentation; The Weather Channel filed for a trademark on the name on 24th April 1997. The name has caused confusion in the New York City market, as CBS Corporation's television and radio combination of WCBS-TV and WCBS use "traffic and weather on the 8's" to refer to the combined traffic and weather segments featured on those stations, appearing on WCBS-TV only during its morning newscasts and on WCBS radio. Weather information is received from the vertical blanking interval of the The Weather Channel video feed and from data transmitted via satellite, which is then sent to the WeatherStar unit that inserts the localized data over the Weather Channel feed. The WeatherStar systems are capable of adding or removing segments shown within the main local forecast segment, with the common exception of the extended forecast; these customized segments are referred to as "flavors," allowing variabilities in the weather graphics displayed during each local forecast segment and resulting in certain types of specialized weather data appearing only at specific lengths. As of April 2013, the length of these flavors is uniformally one minute and flavor lengths previously varied between 30 seconds and two minutes prior to April, and extended flavors of three to five minutes were previously included between the late 1980s and the mid-1990s. The segment occasionally airs at times that do not end in "8," such as Wake Up with Al and Day Planner. Both the IntelliStar and IntelliStar 2 have an audio feature known as Vocal Local – a function that assembles pre-recorded tracks for narration of the current temperature and sky conditions, descriptive forecasts and introductions to certain forecast products (the tracks are narrated by Allen Jackson and Jim Cantore). This function is similar to a narration feature in the Weather Star 4000 that was used from 1987 to 1995; Dan Chandler was used only to introduce products in the forecast segment. Since 12 November 2013, the new music package introduced to The Weather Channel has been played during the local forecasts, disabling the other music. 3 songs from that package are being used for the local forecasts with a fourth being used during the segments when the channel's "Red Alert" mode is ongoing, which also suspends all music during very frequent weather situations such as a hurricane. Each It Could Happen Tomorrow episode is broken into several segments: "It Did Happen," a segment that talks about similar disasters happening in other parts of America; "When It Happens/How It Would Happen," talking about how the disaster would unfold; and a third segment about how to prepare for the disaster, and interviews with residents in the threatened areas about what they think of the disaster threat. Sometimes there is a segment called "Before It Happens," showing what is being done to prepare for the disaster. It Could Happen Tomorrow continued running on The Weather Channel until April 2010, when The Weather Channel began aired many other new weather shows; it was replaced by Storm Stories and Full Force Nature. The original Category 5 hurricane episode was to involve New Orleans. It was conceived and scripted months before Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. After Katrina, the episode was changed to instead show a storm striking New York City (reducing the storm to a Category 3 as it is believed that is the strongest storm that would strike the city; such a storm in 1938 missed New York City by just 75 miles, and historical records also show that a similar storm directly hit the city in 1821). On 4th June 2006, The Weather Channel aired "Katrina: The Lost Episode." Unlike other episodes of the show, the episode was one hour in length and combined clips of the "lost" episode with a Storm Stories-style retelling. The two "mega-disasters" of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 inspired Mega Disasters, which immediately provided a reference point for many of the episodes of the show. On 1st September 2015 it was announced that Wake Up with Al would be cancelled. Its final episode aired on 2nd October. Network officials cited high production costs as a factor, owing to being the only program on The Weather Channel that was produced outside of Atlanta, as well as plans to focus back towards live weather coverage as its core programming. America's Morning Headquarters would be extended to fill its former timeslot while Stephanie Abrams would move to Atlanta to continue her role on the program, displacing Sam Champion. Al Roker will continue to be involved with The Weather Channel as a contributor. Wake Up with Al was anchored by Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams with Reynolds Wolf as a segment correspondent and fill-in and news reports from MSNBC anchors Richard Lui, Dara Brown, Frances Rivera and Alex Witt. On 25th March 2015, Jeremy Clarkson was informed by the BBC that his contract would not be renewed and his co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May and executive producer Andy Wilman announced that they would not return to the show without him. On 16th June Chris Evans was confirmed as one of the new hosts. 4 months later Evans announced that a new format could lead to him presenting the show alone. At the same time it was also confirmed that the twenty-third series of Top Gear is planned to air in May 2016. David Coulthard was also widely reported to be joining the team before he was revealed as the host of Channel 4's Formula 1 coverage for the 2016 season. 1 month later the BBC announced that American actor Matt LeBlanc will be joining Evans as one of his co-presenters. It has also been reported that German racing driver Sabine Schmitz and British motoring journalist Chris Harris will be joining the show, although the BBC has yet to officially confirm the full line-up of hosts joining Evans and LeBlanc. 1 year after Jeremy Clarkson was informed by the BBC that his contract would not be renewed, Reagan Farmer revealed a new trend for his other videos by uploading Galactica on 16th January to coincide with his special tribute to David Bowie who died on 10th January from liver cancer. Galactica was reported to have replaced The Joker Chaos Coaster because of a controversy in summer of that year. In 2015 work on The Joker Chaos Coaster was severely disrupted when a English television presenter yelled something that was very controversial. It was reportedly rumoured that the presenter wanted to shut the crowd up because she was trying to focus on the final two acts. Work on Need for Speed was also stopped because of her anger. The adaptation of the open world racing video game was originally due to be released in 2016 but was pushed back to 1st January 2017, which is set to mark New Year's Day. In 2015 Alton Towers submitted a planning application to make modifications to the ride buildings. This proposed adding a new photo opportunity into the queue, enclosing the station building with new walls, and constructing additional theming elements around the ride area. This was in addition to an earlier planning application to convert the existing ride shop into a restaurant. 4 months later a promotional material was posted on the Alton Towers website advising guests to "prepare for a new flight" and to watch this space. On 12th January 2016, Alton Towers announced that Air would be rethemed as Galactica for 2016 and that it would include on-ride virtual reality headsets, which simulate a ride through the galaxy. Alton Towers later clarified that the virtual reality features would be optional and that guests could choose to ride without headsets. A promotional website was also released, explaining more information about the ride and its new storyline. Galactica was the world’s first roller coaster dedicated to virtual reality when it opened in March. Each rider will wear a specialist VR headset which will be fixed to the craft. An on-board artificial intelligence guides them from the launch pad up into space, flying and looping beyond the stars, banking through wormholes and speeding across undiscovered galaxies, revealing the wonders of the cosmos in stunning clarity. 1 day after Galactica was uploaded, Reagan officially announced Skull Island: Reign of Kong, which is due to make its début in 2017 and the plot of the new attraction is set 50 years after the events of Galactica. The Keith Ferguson version of Skull Island Reign of Kong featured +1 by Martin Solveig ft Sam White when it was uploaded on 28 November 2015 but it was blocked, which immediately resulted in a new version of the attraction being created. On 17th January a corridor of snow swept across parts of the United Kingdom with many people in south-east England seeing their first fall of the season. The band of snow moved through western Scotland, north-west England, the Midlands, and south-east England. Parts of rural Scotland dropped to 14°F for a second night. A Met Office yellow warning to "be aware" of snow and ice remained in place, with drivers being warned to take care on the roads. The snow brought heavy falls on higher ground and between 1-4 cm in some lower lying areas, while other places just saw a light dusting. Ben Rich said that the snow was not expected to stay around at low levels for too long as milder air from the west pushed in. He said that overnight temperatures in Kinbrace in the Scottish Highlands fell to 10.8°F. 17 rescuers were called out to the Keppel Cove area near Helvellyn mountain, and had to wade through snow drifts above waist height to get to the man. A coastguard helicopter had to turn back because of bad weather and the man was pulled off the fells on a sledge before being taken to hospital. All areas of the United Kingdom were affected by the Met Office's yellow "be aware" warnings for either ice or snow except the Grampian region and Shetland, named after the Shetland pony. The Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society of the United Kingdom was started in 1890 to maintain purity and encourage high-quality animals. In 1957, the Shetland Islands Premium Stallion Scheme was formed to subsidize high-quality registered stallions to improve the breeding stock. Shetland ponies are ridden by children and are shown by both children and adults at horse shows in harness driving classes as well as for pleasure driving outside of the show ring. Shetlands are ridden by small children at horse shows, in riding schools and for pleasure. They are seen working in commercial settings such as fairs or carnivals to provide short rides for visitors. They are also seen at petting zoos and sometimes are used for therapeutic horseback riding purposes. In the United Kingdom, Shetlands are also featured in the Shetland Pony Grand National, galloping around a racecourse with young jockeys. Junior Harness Racing gives young people aged 6-16 an opportunity to obtain a practical introduction to the harness racing industry. No prize money is payable on pony races, although winners and place-getters receive medallions. The Shetland is the strongest of all horse and pony breeds. It can pull twice its own weight under circumstances where a draft horse can only pull approximately half its own weight as well as many being able to carry up to 9 stone – 59 kg. Shetland ponies are found worldwide, though mainly in the UK and North America with UK ponies tending to preserve more of the original characteristics of the breed, and are often stockier than their American cousins. In August 2015 Shetland was included in Reagan's contract to supply new movies for 2017. As well as the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo which had not been heard of since January 2016, there were major changes, with Three Oaks and Yokohama taking their roles as replacements for Revolution and The Joker Chaos Coaster respectively. The setting and appearance of the characters also changed with Pagani showcasing the Huayra for the first time. According to Autocar, Chevrolet was in decline and threatened to stop appearing on Reagan's YouTube channel if it did not have the Traverse ready for 2017, and the Bolt EV was the only electric vehicle available that was uploaded on 15th January. The Cruze Hatchback and the Suburban LTZ were also involved in the threat but the 2016 Chevrolet Volt was not involved and became a #1 hit for the company, which instantly spawned a mini MPV by the name of the Spin. On 5 November 2015 Chevrolet announced that they would include the "very large and strange looking" Suburban for 2016 and that it would join the LTZ version of the SUV. The Suburban had eight color palettes to choose from for the 2015 model year: Champagne Silver Metallic, Silver Ice Metallic, White Diamond Tricoat, Sable Metallic, Crystal Red Tricoat, Summit White, Tungsten Metallic, and Black. The Suburban is sold in the United States, Mexico and Chile as a left-hand drive vehicle, while the GMC Yukon XL is sold in North America only. On 30th December 2015 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that it had received complaints from Suburban owners about buffeting and vibration problems, which is causing the drivers and passengers to endure a annoying vibration inside the cabin to an experience so severe that it leads to dizziness and headaches. The Suburban's design provided the basis for the Declasse Granger, which is a line of fictitious SUVs that are featured in the Grand Theft Auto video game series as of Grand Theft Auto 5. The 2500 Suburban was originally sourced from Silao in Mexico from 2007 to 2008 but was moved to the Arlington in Texas for 2009, where production of all General Motors full-size SUVs was consolidated after the closing of the Janesville plant. Reagan had said in a statement in December 2015 that he did not know Shetland was being discussed until Heathrow Junction had already closed in 1998 to enable Heathrow Express services to begin operations Category:Three Oaks